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Born in Seattle, WA. Exuberant, saucer-eyed entertainer of the American stage, nightclubs, TV, and occasional movies. The daughter of a well-known Christian Science lecturer, she dropped out of Bennington College in 1941 to start a professional career that culminated with her memorable Broadway portrayal of Lorelei Lee in Anita Loos's Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, in which she sang in her inimitable raspish voice "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend." The song remains her trademark. She later starred in several other Broadway productions, including Show Girl and Hello, Dolly! and on numerous TV shows. She has appeared in only a handful of films but was nominated for a best supporting actress Oscar® for her performance in THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE (1967).
In her 2002 autobiography, Just Lucky I Guess: A Memoir of Sorts, she revealed that her father was a light skinned African-American who used one accent to help "pass" in the white world and another around the house, where he sang gospel music to entertain his daughter. In 2003, at the age of 82, Channing married her junior high school sweetheart Harry Kullijian, aged 83.
1 nomination |
Nominated for Supporting Actress